HDC’s West South Central Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WSC WIPA) Project

The Social Security Administration (SSA) awarded the Human Development Center (HDC) another five-year grant to operate a Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WIPA) project. This new grant expands HDC’s service area to include 33 Louisiana parishes and 21 Texas counties, which are colored purple in the map below.

Map of 21 Texas counties and 33 Louisiana parishes served by WSC WIPA.
The purple counties/parishes indicate WSC WIPA’s service area.

WIPA services provide free assistance to working SSA beneficiaries with disabilities designed to help them make informed decisions regarding working or working more.  The program’s Certified Work Incentive Counselors (CWICs) help beneficiaries understand how wages impact cash and medical benefits (i.e., Medicaid and/or Medicare) they receive. CWICs complete an analysis of beneficiaries’ earnings (and potential earnings) from employment and their benefits.  CWICs use the results of their analyses to identify and explain work incentives for which beneficiaries are eligible.

If you are working, or about to start working, and want to understand how your wages may affect your benefits and how work incentives can help, get referred today!

Benefits Referral

WSC WIPA serves:

Louisiana parishes:

  • Allen
  • Ascension
  • Avoyelles
  • Beauregard
  • Bienville
  • Bossier
  • Caddo
  • Calcasieu
  • Caldwell
  • Catahoula
  • Claiborne
  • Concordia
  • De Soto
  • East Baton Rouge
  • East Carroll
  • East Feliciana
  • Evangeline
  • Franklin
  • Grant
  • Jackson
  • Jeff Davis
  • LaSalle
  • Lincoln
  • Madison
  • Morehouse
  • Natchitoches
  • Ouachita
  • Pointe Coupee
  • Rapides
  • Red River
  • Richland
  • Sabine
  • St. Landry
  • Tensas
  • Vernon
  • Webster
  • West Baton Rouge
  • West Carroll
  • West Feliciana
  • Winn

East Texas counties:

  • Angelina
  • Cass
  • Cherokee
  • Gregg
  • Hardin
  • Harrison
  • Jasper
  • Jefferson
  • Marion
  • Nacogdoches
  • Newton
  • Orange
  • Panola
  • Rusk
  • Sabine
  • San Augustine
  • Shelby
  • Smith
  • Tyler
  • Upshur
  • Wood

About WIPA

WSC WIPA provides Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) recipients with disabilities support in their efforts to acquire, retain, and increase meaningful employment and improve financial independence by explaining:

  • How work effects SSI and/or SSDI cash benefits;
  • How to protect their Medicaid or Medicare coverage;
  • Social Security Work Incentives and how they can help;
  • How and when to report income to the Social Security Administration;
  • Impact of wages from work on other benefits like Food Stamps, Subsidized Housing, Waiver Services, VA Benefits
Visit the WSC WIPA website

Employment and Community Living, WSC WIPA | Permalink | Comments Off on HDC’s West South Central Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WSC WIPA) Project | Posted July 19, 2021 by Jolie Robichaux

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